Ms. Roxane Gay is not actually a bad feminist; she's just too intelligent to put up with bullshit. With her keen critical eye and biting wit, she examMs. Roxane Gay is not actually a bad feminist; she's just too intelligent to put up with bullshit. With her keen critical eye and biting wit, she examines American phenomena from Quentin Tarantino movies to the murder of Trayvon Martin. Her opinion is more nuanced and educated than yours. She's brilliant, and yes, she's also funny. ...more

About half of the paperback is the end of the Deadpool zombie story, and the other half is a preview of something with various Deadpools collected froAbout half of the paperback is the end of the Deadpool zombie story, and the other half is a preview of something with various Deadpools collected from various alternate universes. Because there aren't as many zombie chapters in this one as in 'Night of the Living Deadpool,' I should only give it three stars, but it's Deadpool and it's a bloody, gruesome zombie AU, so it's so darn hard to resist. But I really don't love comics that are mostly just previews for other comics. ...more

I'm still pretty new to Black Panther, having seen the movie and read exactly one comic book in the Rise of the Black Panther series. I feel like I'mI'm still pretty new to Black Panther, having seen the movie and read exactly one comic book in the Rise of the Black Panther series. I feel like I'm missing something. Why is Shuri the queen now? And what happened to her? I feel like I'd have appreciated this more if I knew more about the background story. I liked Ayo and Aneka's love story, especially the end, but clearly I need to brush up on my Wakandan history. ...more

The plot of the first True Blood comic book series didn't make any sense to me; I liked this one better. It centered on the sweet notion of Hoyt ForteThe plot of the first True Blood comic book series didn't make any sense to me; I liked this one better. It centered on the sweet notion of Hoyt Fortenberry wanting to give Jessica Hamby the prom she's missing out on since undead teenagers don't have to finish high school. It all goes disastrously awry when Jessica unknowingly drinks from a tainted batch of Tru Blood.

Every once in a while I miss this HBO series, so when I saw this graphic novel at my local comic book shop on Free Comic Book Day 2018, I had to pick it up. ...more

I must've read the full text of The Secret Garden when I was a child, because this all seemed very familiar. I found this Dover Children's Thrift ClasI must've read the full text of The Secret Garden when I was a child, because this all seemed very familiar. I found this Dover Children's Thrift Classics book for $1 at a bookstore and decided to refresh my memory on the story. I thoroughly enjoyed it. As a big fan of Wuthering Heights and the Bronte Sisters in general, I really enjoyed the Yorkshire setting and the Yorkshire accents. It's just a fun little book. ...more

I suppose this is meant to be Literary and Serious, but in all honesty, it doesn't have much of a plot. It's more of a character study of Owen Webb, aI suppose this is meant to be Literary and Serious, but in all honesty, it doesn't have much of a plot. It's more of a character study of Owen Webb, and he's essentially the same person at 28 that he is at 16. Granted, he's a likable person, and as someone who was also 16 in the 1990s, I can relate to many of his thoughts and actions. But he has very little agency in his own life. Things happen to him and happen around him, but seldom happen because of him.

Perhaps because of this, we read the Climactic Scene secondhand through Owen's mother, and that makes it less than climactic. The ending feels very tacked-on.

The explicitly-stated moral of this character study is that one should always have a mother, because it's the motherless boy who turns out Bad. Even a half-assed mother is better than none, according to Nye's narration. Owen, of course, has no control over the fact that his mother is present and largely functional, despite dabbling in alcoholism. But we're told that this is what allows him to grow up to be, presumably, a pretty decent person.

I like Owen, but I'd rather read about what happens to him in the boxing ring as a grown-up man with grown-up thoughts than secondhand witness what he passively witnesses as a fairly typical adolescent. Owen's teenage problems are very much First World Problems. At no time in the novel is he in any immediate danger, which makes the stakes of his entire story feel quite low.

Michael Nye, please raise the stakes next time.

I won an uncorrected proof of this book from the publisher in a random drawing and was not obligated in any way to review it. ...more

A fun and fitting conclusion to the trilogy. I was terrified that Emma and Jacob were going to be separated at the end, but that tragedy, fortunately,A fun and fitting conclusion to the trilogy. I was terrified that Emma and Jacob were going to be separated at the end, but that tragedy, fortunately, was avoided. I hope Fiona reappears in the next volume, though.

One note: In the last chapter, Ransom Riggs used the word "disinterested" to mean "uninterested." This is a usage error some editor should have caught along the way. Tahereh Mafi, please slap your husband's hand for me. ...more